Banana Pancakes
by EvenAngelsFall22
Summary: A day of I Never brings a series of firsts for Logan and Rory, leading up to the biggest first of all. Set during midseason five. Complete.
1. One Shot

Title: Banana Pancakes

Summary: A day of "I Never" brings a series of firsts for Logan and Rory, leading up to the biggest first of all. Set during mid-season five. Four-shots. Fluff!

Disclaimer: I don't own _Gilmore Girls_ or its characters. While we're at it, I don't own Fred and Holly from _Breakfast at Tiffany's _or anyone from _Empire Records _either. Could it get any more random than that? Of course it can! Let's just be honest, if you recognize it as pop culture, I can't take credit for it.

Author's Note: Fluff! Title is taken from the Jack Johnson song of the same name. The plot was inspired partly by the song, partly by the movie _Breakfast at Tiffany's_. Reviews are always appreciated, but never expected. And of course, I have to thank Beth, for originally asking me "Why doesn't Logan ever wear jeans?"

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Banana Pancakes  
part I

It had been nearly thirty minutes since Logan had woken up and he wasn't sure how much longer he could lie in bed like he was and pretend to be asleep. In fact, he wished he could go back to sleep, as it had been an extremely late night, but he wanted to be awake when the festivities began and honestly, he was surprised that they hadn't already.

The brunette who shared his bed this morning stirred in her sleep and Logan held his breath as she rearranged herself in his arms, burying her head in his chest. He had had her pegged as the type of girl who woke up exactly one minute before the alarm went off but he was realizing he was wrong. He opened one eye and glanced at the alarm clock. She had slept through two-thirds of her first class of the day and Logan was beginning to wonder that all of the trouble he had gone to was for naught.

"Oh my god!" If he hadn't been awake already the high-pitched shriek definitely would have done the job. He couldn't help but grin as she bolted up in bed and hit him in the face with her pillow. No, he decided, he had most definitely been right with his first assumptions.

"Logan, it's eight forty-five!" Rory exclaimed as she untangled herself from the bed sheets and began searching for her clothes, which were spread out around the room after last night's activities.

"Eight forty-seven actually," Logan said helpfully. He watched as he located her shirt.

"Shut up! Your alarm didn't go off!" She accused as she shook her shirt at him. "Why didn't your alarm go off?"

He smirked and leaned back against his headboard, openly ogling her because she was too worked up to notice or scold him. "I never set it last night," he said simply.

She stopped and stared at him, her shirt half-buttoned. "Why not?" she asked incredulously.

"Because I wanted to sleep in," he said logically. This was more fun than he had imagined.

"But you have an eight AM class! I have an eight AM class!"

He nodded agreeably. ""And neither of us are going to make that one today." He flashed a smile at her. "Come back to bed Ace," he urged. "It's Tuesday, nothing ever happens on Tuesdays."

"Ugh!" She threw him a disgusted look as she stepped into her skirt and zipped it. "You don't know that nothing happens on Tuesdays."

"I think it's a pretty safe bet." He pulled the blankets back up around him and made a big show of burrowing in. "Bed's nice and warm and comfy Ace," he taunted from underneath a makeshift shield. "You should join me."

"I can't just skip classes Logan," she said irritably. "It's bad enough I've already missed one, if I don't get out of here soon, I'm going to be late for my second one."

"It's raining outside," Logan said. "I would hate for you to walk to class in the rain and catch a cold and then end up missing two weeks of classes because your cold turned into pneumonia. I've seen it happen before." He added as she sent him a withering look.

"It is not raining!"

"Oh." He shrugged. "It's raining somewhere I'm sure." He lifted himself up slightly and threw another lazy grin at her as she bent down and peered underneath the chair in the corner. "You really should come back to bed because I know for a fact you're not going to leave my room anytime soon."

"Oh really?" She straightened up and glared at him. "Why's that?"

"Those shoes you're looking for? I know where they are. And you're not getting them."

Her face was getting redder by the second. "Why do you do this to me?" she demanded.

"Because, I've said it before and I'll say it again. You, Rory Gilmore, need some fun in your life."

"What was last night then Logan? Remember how I let you talk me out of studying so I could go to the pub with you and your stupid friends?" She made a face as she recalled his methods of getting her to go out last night, tempting her with the offer of getting drunk with an Australian, it was always hard for her to turn that down, as it was just so entertaining.

"That was pretty fun," he agreed. "But the fun just doesn't stop around me and today you're going to have a little fun too. Even if it kills you. Although I suspect I'll be the one who might not make it through the day judging by the look on your face."

"Give me my shoes Logan," she ordered.

"I'm surprised you don't remember where they are," he said leaning back again. "I didn't think you drank that much, but I wasn't necessarily sober myself so—"

"Logan!"

He chuckled as he reached down to the foot of the bed and extracted one of her black boots from the comforter that had been kicked to the edge of the bed. He held it up to her, enjoying the way her face blushed even darker as last night's events clearly came back to her. "Come and get 'em, Ace," he said.

"I need to go to class," she protested softly, and he was almost certain he had won the battle.

"No you don't," he said with a shake of his head. "It's…" he craned his neck towards the alarm clock. "eight fifty-three now, you'll be late to your second class and then your whole day will be off so really, you may as well just come back to bed." He enjoyed watching as her body language changed from determined resolve to accepting her defeat and he wasn't sure, but maybe, just maybe, she was even a little welcoming of the idea of a day off.

"It's your choice," he said, his voice dropping a little. "I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do, but if you want to go to class, you have to come get your shoes."

She approached the bed grudgingly, fully aware that he wasn't going to surrender her shoes as easily as she would like. Sure enough, as soon as she was standing next to him he flung the shoe to the opposite side of the room and grabbed her wrist in the same moment.

"But I have stats," she whispered as he pulled her back down onto the bed.

He shook his head solemnly, still holding onto her wrist, though she easily could have pulled free from him. "You can't go to stats looking like this," he said as he brought his free hand up to her shirt. She looked down and sighed, realizing that in her hurry to get dressed she had buttoned the shirt crookedly. His other hand released her and moved to rest on her hip.

"An easy fix," she replied, still holding on to her last bit of resolve.

"Indeed." Rory watched as one hand made quick work of her buttons while the other unzipped her skirt in one fluid motion. She couldn't help but wonder how practiced his moves were because within seconds she was naked and back under the blankets with him.

"You know I hate you, right?" she mumbled as he wrapped his arms around her, prohibiting any chance of her escaping.

"I'm sure you're not the first or last girl to feel that way," he said, placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. "Now I don't know about you, but I could definitely use another half hour or so of sleep this morning."

She raised herself up on one elbow and glared at him. "You pulled me back into bed to sleep?" she asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "For now." He grinned at her before knocking her elbow out from underneath her, causing her to fall into him. "We've got the whole day Ace, and don't worry, we won't be leaving my room anytime soon."

"Not even for coffee?"

"Coffee can and will be delivered." He shook his head as he felt her relax into him then. "Now shh, back to sleep."

She sighed and buried her head in the crook of his arm as she realized that going back to sleep didn't seem as terrible of an idea as she though. "You're going to pay for this Huntzberger," she threatened without an ounce of actual threat in her voice.

"I'm sure I will but shh, we're sleeping now." He tightened his hold on her just in case she decided to make a run for it the moment he fell asleep but he was pleasantly surprised when, only a matter of five minutes later, she was already asleep again. His own eyes slid closed as her steady breathing lulled him back into sleep.

Rory was wide-awake. She had managed to fall asleep for about fifteen minutes when she was suddenly wakened by the fact that she was actually missing class right now. She tried to slip out of Logan's arms but even in his sleep, he was stronger than her. Not that she was trapped; she rationalized, because she certainly could move if she wanted to but she would end up waking him up and she didn't want to do that because he seemed to be sleeping peacefully and well, she had never seen him in the morning, not like this anyway.

She opened her eyes and they settled on her hand, which was on his chest and rose and fell with each breath. She stared at him openly now, realizing she had never really looked at him like this before. Her gaze traveled to his arms and she now understood the grasp he had on her. She briefly wondered when he actually had the time to go to the gym before her eyes moved again. She noticed little things she hadn't seen before, like how long his eyelashes actually were and how his nose was slightly crooked. His hair looked blonder in the stream of sunshine that filtered in through the blinds and she smiled at how it fell across his forehead. She could pick out several different colors of blonde and wondered if perhaps he knew his way around a salon better than she did.

"I won't let you go to class so you study me instead? That's creepy." The voice startled her and she met his eyes with her own but for once, she didn't blush.

"This is ridiculous Logan," she insisted. "I can't miss class all day long, it will throw my entire week off."

"It's one day Rory. Four classes."

"Six!"

"Six?" He made a face. "Who takes six classes in one day?" His eyes fell shut again.

"I do!"

"Well don't." He opened his eyes and looked at her curiously. "Have you ever skipped class before?"

"No."

"Never?"

"Once," she relented. "In high school."

"And what did you do?"

"Went to New York to see a friend."

"A friend." He rolled his eyes. "He was that good huh-Ow!" He groaned as she jabbed her finger into his side. "Anyways, did you have fun?"

"I guess."

"Well then it doesn't count if you can't for sure say you had fun. I'm going to make it my duty to show you the proper way to blow off classes for a day. We'll follow the rules, you're a rules kind of girl so that should be fun enough for you."

"Are you going to tease me all day too?" she asked with a pout.

"I might," he decided, as his eyes fixated on her lower lip. He surprised her by leaning forward and catching it between his own. He hadn't meant to, but he couldn't deny any longer the fact that there was a naked girl in his bed with her legs tangled around his. He really could not see himself not making the most of their situation. Rory didn't seem to mind either, as their legs untangled and he rolled them over so she was underneath him.

It was different this time. For the past two months he had been enjoying his nights with Rory, reveling in sensory overload. There were things he could always count on, the taste of coffee on her lips for example, or the hesitancy in her fingertips as she touched him, but then there were the things that changed with her mood. Like her perfume, some nights it was flowery, and sometimes it was spicy, or the tone of her voice, which varied with her level of sobriety.

This morning he could finally add a fifth sense to memory. Sight. He could see the way she bit her lip as his fingers skimmed across her, the curve of her leg as he pulled it up to steeple next to him. He watched in fascination, taking note of how she smiled slightly when he kissed the inside of her knee. Her fingertips dug into his arms, his shoulder, wherever they were, and he could see slight crescents imprinted in his skin. Everything that had been shadows before were suddenly there for him to see and it unnerved him, especially when he opened his eyes to watch as she came and found that her eyes were open too and not only that, but completely focused on him.

He lay there for a few moments after, unsure of what to do before finally raising himself up on one elbow and looking down at her. "Coffee?"

"Like you even have to ask," she said, a huge smile gracing her features.

He shrugged. "One of these days you might change your mind," he argued as he got out of the bed and grabbed his boxers from the floor next to him. She moved to join him and he shook his head at her. "You stay here, I meant what I said, you're doing today right, and that means you can't get out of bed until at least noon."

"At all?" she protested.

"If you have to, I guess you can, but only for necessities. And when I'm done making breakfast I expect you to be in this bed." He picked up the shoe he had thrown earlier. "Just to make sure you don't try and escape," he called over his shoulder as he left the bedroom, shoe still in his hand.

Colin looked up as Logan walked into the kitchenette. "Souvenir from last night?" he asked, nodding to the shoe.

"What's keeping you from your own place this morning?" Logan asked as he poured water into the coffee maker.

Colin shook his head. "Finn and I both slept here last night, instead of walking all the way across campus because well, we couldn't walk." He rolled his eyes at the coffee cups Logan pulled out from the cupboard. "So Gilmore is still here I take it?"

He nodded. "When was my last relationship?" he asked as he went to the fridge.

"Hell, I don't know. Have you ever had a relationship?"

Logan shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Let me ask you something else then. Have you ever noticed that sex is different in the morning?"

Colin blinked. "Fucking is fucking," he answered and Logan winced at the vulgarity. Yeah, he was no stranger to 'fucking', he had done his share of it, but he didn't like the term in this particular situation.

"Yeah," he said, deciding Colin wasn't the best person to talk to about this. Maybe he'd call Honor tonight and get her opinion. He turned back to the stove and turned on one of the burners.

Colin threw an apple at him. "This whole thing you've got going on is different and you know it," he pointed out. "How many girls have you woken up with, much less fucked in the morning? And when was the last time you made someone breakfast?" He grabbed his jacket off the counter and headed for the door. "My advice? Don't fuck it up." He slammed the door behind him, leaving Logan to mull over his not so articulate words.


	2. Two Shot

Banana Pancakes  
part II

When he opened his bedroom door a few minutes later, a plate and two cups balanced precariously in his hands, he found Rory still in bed, engrossed in whatever movie she had put in the player. She sat up eagerly and accepted the coffee he held out to her. "You made breakfast?" she asked finally, after four long sips of coffee.

He nodded and set the plate between them. "Figured I couldn't go wrong with pancakes," he said, fighting the urge to smile as her eyes lit up.

"They are the second most important part of breakfast," she agreed amicably as she accepted the fork he handed her. He tried not to watch as she slid the fork through the pancake and lifted it to her lips, opting to focus his gaze on the television instead.

"Banana?" she said through her mouthful and he nodded silently as he turned back to watch her. She seemed to chew for a long time before swallowing.

"Your secret recipe?" she asked with a small smile as she took another bite. He watched again, as she chewed on it forever before swallowing.

"Something like that." His eyebrows knit together as he tried to read the expression on her face. "They're good, right?"

"They're awfully sweet," she commented after taking a drink of her coffee.

"Oh, well I didn't realize we didn't have any bananas until it was too late, so I substituted."

She frowned. "With what? Liquor?"

"Yes actually." Her head shot up and she looked at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. "What?"

"You used alcohol to make pancakes?"

"The alcohol cooks out," he argued defensively. "So it should still just taste like bananas."

She shook her head mutely as pressed a hand to her mouth. He watched as her shoulders shook up and down with her silent laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Her laughter was audible finally. "These are the worst pancakes I've ever had, Emeril," she confessed through her giggles.

"What?" He shook his head. "You're crazy, these are awesome pancakes."

"Sure," she said with a nod. "Here then." She cut off another piece and held the fork in front of him. This time she watched as he chewed. "And?"

"Awesome," he repeated. She waited for him to swallow. "Awesomely disgusting, God!" he risked losing a limb and reached for her coffee to rid the overly sweet banana taste from of his mouth. "What the hell was I thinking?"

She laughed again and snatched the fork and cup back from him. "The thought was sweet," she said, patting his knee. "At least now we know neither of us can cook so we'll be eating out from now on."

Logan tried not to dwell on her choice of pronoun as he nodded dejectedly. "I swear they don't always taste this ba—what are you doing?" he watched as she raised another bite to her mouth. "Ror, you don't have to eat them, it's okay." He reached for the fork again but she held it out of his reach this time.

"No really, after that first bite they're disgusting enough to be…well, not bad," she decided. She smiled at the look on his face. "They get better, they really do."

"If you say so." He leaned back against the headboard, pulling her to sit against him between his legs. She had taken a shower while he had been in the kitchen and her wet hair tickled his chest as she leaned back comfortably. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts and smelled of his soap and he realized how much he liked her this way.

"What are you watching?" he asked, pushing the thoughts out of his head.

"Empire Records," she answered, setting the now-empty plate aside.

"What's it about?"

She craned her neck back to look at him. "It's your movie, you've never watched it?" He shook his head. "There really is no plot," she decided after a moment's consideration. "But no plot movies are the best and this one used to be mine and Lane's favorite." She laughed softly at something on the screen and then turned back to him. "Because of this movie, we used to dream about running our own record store and we wanted it to be exactly like this," she said, jerking her head toward the screen. "I was going to marry AJ and she was going to get Lucas. Besides, how can you not love a movie that has an all non-star lineup including Liv Tyler _and _Renee Zellweger pre-Jerry McGuire?" She shook her head. "It's a must-see movie and I'm tempted to start it over so you can watch from the beginning."

"I think I can catch up," he said, moving the remote control from her reach and settling his hands back on the tops of her bare thighs, playing with the hem of his shirt. She rolled her eyes at him and moved out of his reach, stretching out on her stomach, her head at the foot of the bed, her legs crossed at the ankles behind her, giving him a tempting view that he chose to ignore as he settled himself next to her.

He tried to watch the movie but Rory was distracting him, even if she didn't mean to and the best part was, she wasn't even aware of it. She was a pain in the ass to watch movies with; he could feel her tense up next to him as she anticipated upcoming scenes, she would glance at him sideways to see if he appreciated a joke, her lips moved along with the dialogue, her words just beneath a whisper but still detectable. It didn't help things either, when her ankles uncrossed and one of her legs fell over his and her head rested against his shoulder. The whole moment was entirely too comfortable for Logan's liking and he tried to concentrate on the movie and not think about everything else.

Rory kept her eyes on the television, focusing on Deb's fake funeral as she felt his body stiffen next to hers briefly. This whole morning had her on edge; maybe he was feeling it too. It was as if their entire arrangement had been thrown out the window. It started last night, when he had suggested his place instead of hers. She had protested but he rationalized that it was closer than her dorm and she had been in no position to walk all the way back and he had promised to set the alarm for her and she had been surprised to find he meant for the morning, and not for three hours later, as they usually did. Of course, he hadn't set the alarm, but thinking about that just opened a whole other can of worms.

She was…Rory wracked the thesaurus in her head for a possible synonym for what she was. Comfortable? Content? At ease? Any of them worked well enough, but lying here on his bed, watching a movie and acting like, dare she think it, _a couple_, was almost too familiar for her and she wasn't sure how she should act. Their arrangement wasn't called off; they had just lapsed for day right? She was trying to convince herself of this all the while trying not to think of how it had felt being with him this morning.

"Hey Ace?" Logan's voice snapped her back to reality and she turned her head to look at him.

"Hmm?"

"At least now I know where Finn got the idea to glue quarters to the floor."

She laughed. "I always knew I liked Finn the best," she teased. They both turned back to the movie, each privately deciding to not put any more thoughts into the what-ifs, but focus on the day at hand and worry about everything else tomorrow.

"Well?" She turned to him as the end credits rolled and waited for his consensus.

"Well," he mimicked. "You were right."

"I was?" she smiled brightly.

He nodded. "Absolutely no plot at all." He smirked as she yanked the pillow out from underneath him and hit him with it. "That's the second time you've hit me today," he protested as he wrestled the pillow away from her. He tried to hit her but she grabbed his wrists before he could and stuck out her lower lip again. That damn lower lip. He sighed and set the pillow down. He caught sight of the alarm clock as he did and pointed at it. "Look at that, it's twenty after twelve and you haven't burst into flames yet." She didn't say anything and he watched as she pulled her lower lip into her mouth. "What?"

She looked at him slyly. "I can still make three of my classes if I get dressed and leave now," she said.

"Ace!" he groaned in frustration and looked at her. "Seriously, how can I get you to have fun today and not think about what you're missing in class today?"

"So you admit I'm missing stuff?"

"I'm going to plead the fifth on that one." They studied each other silently for a few seconds before Logan spoke again. "How about an I Never Day?" he asked finally.

"An I Never Day?"

He nodded. "We've already started really," he pointed out. "You never skipped a day of class and I never watched Empire Records, now we both have."

"How Breakfast at Tiffany's of you," she said dryly, folding her legs underneath her on the bed.

He tried not to look at her bare legs. "Exactly."

She sighed. "Watching a movie is nowhere near the level of what I'm doing," she said.

He shrugged. "Day's still early, you never know what could happen." He stood up, pulling her off of the bed with him. "Come on, I'll tell you what. I'm going to go jump in the shower, you go ahead and get dressed, and we'll decide what to do from there."

"All right," she relented.

"That's my girl," he grinned at her again, trying again to ignore the pronouns being thrown so freely around this morning. "I'll be right back." He grabbed a towel and headed for the door. He turned and looked at her for a moment, before bending down and picking up her shoe again. "Just in case," he said at her raised eyebrow before heading into the bathroom.

Rory got dressed and wandered out into the living room. She was startled to see Finn sitting on the couch, watching television, and painting his nails.

"A little early for you to be up, isn't it?" she asked, sitting down next to him. He looked up and smiled warmly at her.

"Usually yes, but I needed to go to class today. Everything happens on a Tuesday, you know." He looked down at his left hand as he drew the tiny brush over it with an ease that suggested a lot of practice.

"Labs?" Rory asked.

"Rosemary," he clarified with a wink. "We have all the same classes today and she would be absolutely heartbroken if I didn't show up."

"I know I would be," she agreed. She watched him for a few more seconds. "Finn?"

"Yes Doll?"

"What's with the nails? I mean, is there a reason you always paint them black?"

He nodded. "The ladies seem to like it."

"I see."

"That's not all," Logan called, as the bathroom door opened and he stepped out, dressed for the day. "That's not the whole story."

"There's a story?" Rory asked eagerly. She smiled as Logan handed her another cup of coffee and sat down across from her and Finn.

"Finn came to the States in the summer of '98," he began. "Now, I don't know how well you remember it, but that was the summer of MTV. You know, the beach house, TRL, and Carson Daly was the man."

"He was?"

"He was," Finn confirmed. "Did you not see his girlfriend?"

"Tara Reid?"

"The Neutrogena girl," Logan corrected her. "Jennifer Love Hewitt."

"Oh of course." She rolled her eyes at the two guys who both bowed their heads at the name.

"Anyways, why would Carson Daly of all people, be sleeping with a girl like that?" Finn asked with a shake of his head. "I mean, for all intents and purposes, he was a smug prick and not all that good looking. There was no reason I couldn't be with the caliber of ladies that he was. He didn't have anything I didn't."

"Except the black nail polish?"

"Give the girl a cookie!" Finn nodded.

"And it works? I mean, even now, after he's pretty much disappeared, the nail polish still gets the girls?" Rory was fascinated.

He winked at her. "I haven't gotten lonely yet." He capped his nail polish and stood up. "I'll be leaving you two alone now, I need to get to class. I simply cannot keep Rosemary waiting." Finn grabbed his stuff. "Rory, always a pleasure, Logan, your hair is sticking up in back." He stuck his head back into the room. "You want another story? Ask Logan why he never wears jeans." He stuck his tongue out at them and slammed the door again.

"Dick," Logan muttered under his breath as Rory swung around to look at him again.

"Why don't you ever wear jeans?" she asked obediently.

"No reason. Finn's drunk, don't pay attention to him." Logan looked at his watch. "We should get going, I bet we could—where are you going?" He watched as Rory hopped off of the couch and headed back to his bedroom. "What are you doing?"

"Searching your closet," was her frank reply. He stood in the doorway and waited until she emerged from his closet. "You know, Finn's right. I have never ever seen you in a pair of jeans, and there aren't any in your closet either." She leaned back against the closet door. "What's that about?"

"It's nothing," he insisted.

"Right. If it was nothing, you wouldn't be dying to get me out of your room right now," Rory said. "I'm a reporter Logan, I know when there's a story to be had, and there's a definite story here so you may as well tell me."

"No comment?" Logan tried again.

"Off the record?" Rory countered and he sighed.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone," he said finally.

"Pinky swear," she vowed, holding out her left pinky. He grudgingly linked his right pinky around it and then pulled her into back into the living room.

"It's stupid, really," he began after they had settled themselves on the couch again.

"That's a great start to any story." She ducked her head at the look he gave her. "Right, sorry." She pressed her lips together and waited for him to continue.

"When we were younger, Honor and I had this nanny, Jenny, who was pretty cool for a nanny, I guess. Anyways, one summer, I think I was either eleven or twelve, my mother was having the whole estate redone and the place was filled with contractors and gardeners."

"You had a nanny when you were twelve?"

He gave her a dirty look. "My parents were in Europe all summer, so yes, we had a nanny. One more interruption and I won't tell the story." He couldn't help but smile as she drew an imaginary zipper closed over her lips.

"Anyways, I forget what we were doing, but Colin and I for some reason were hiding in the closet in my father's upstairs study." Rory snickered and he shot another glare at her as she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Well, apparently, from the window in that study, there was a really good view of the backyard, and every day, just after lunch, Jenny and our cook, Charlotte, would go into the study and just stare at all of the workers."

_Sounds like a Lorelai thing to do,_ Rory thought as she just nodded at Logan.

"Obviously, I didn't know they did this, and they didn't know we were in the closet, but Colin and I could hear everything they were saying and it was funny." He shrugged. "At least it was blackmail to use against Jenny if need be, you know, neglecting us to drool over guys. So they were talking, and both of them agreed that there was nothing better in the world to look at then the backside of a guy in really tight jeans." He looked at Rory, who was still silent, but her eyes were clearly laughing at him. "What?"

"Sorry, you used the word backside." She shook her head. "I'm okay."

"Well I'm not going to use the exact phrase they used. Your ears don't need to hear it." He paused and looked thoroughly uncomfortable at the memory. "Just know that it was burned into my brain and I haven't worn jeans since that day."

Rory nodded. "I understand." She hoped her voice was full of sincerity.

"You do?" He looked at her doubtfully.

"Mmhmm, it's perfectly understandable. I mean really, who doesn't want their cook checking them out?" She couldn't get the sentence out without laughing.

"I told you it was stupid," he grumbled.

"It really is," she agreed through her giggles. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh; you were obviously very scared by the idea of the staff checking out your twelve year old self."

"That story doesn't leave this room," he threatened. "You pinky swore."

"I just have one question," she said as her laughter subsided.

"Sure."

"Does Colin not wear jeans too?"

Logan grinned. "Are you kidding? He wore the tightest ones he could every time he came over that summer. Jenny was hot."

"Of course." Rory shook her head and stood up. "Okay, I know what we're doing now, come on."


	3. Three Shot

Banana Pancakes  
part III

"What are we doing?" he asked as she grabbed her purse and pulled him out the front door.

"The mall," she said simply. She smiled at the blank look on his face. "You're going to buy a pair of jeans. And wear them."

"No, Ror, come on," he tried to protest but she cut him off.

"An I Never day, _Fred Baby_," she reminded him as she waited for him to unlock his Porsche. "You're the one that said we'd have one. We means the both of us."

"Thanks for the English lesson." He held the car door open for her before moving around to the driver's seat. "Where to, Miss Golightly?"

She smiled appreciatively. "So you have seen Breakfast at Tiffany's, good to know." She quickly rattled off directions to him and soon they were on their way to the nearest mall.

They walked through the glass doors and Rory was surprised as Logan held back. "It's just a mall Logan, surely you've seen one before, maybe even been in one?"

"Yes, I've been in a mall Ace, I'm not as sheltered as you'd like to think I am."

"Then what's with the frown Eeyore?"

He plastered what he hoped was the biggest grin he could on his face. "Look Ace, a bookstore!" he said as he pointed. "I bet we could spend a few hours in there, couldn't we?"

"We could," she said with a nod. "But first things first, we're going to go buy you some jeans." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the escalator.

"All right Ace, but you're going to have to warn me ahead of time if we're going to go into Abercrombie because I'll need to pop my collar."

"Pop it anyways, I'd like to see you walk around like that."

"Maybe some night if you're lucky." She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. They were halfway up the escalator when he realized they were still holding hands and he dropped hers swiftly.

Too swiftly, because she noticed. She wasn't looking at him, but he saw her smile fade and then reappear just as quickly. He thought about trying to cover it up running his hand through his hair or rubbing the back of his neck but then it was too late and he just pushed the hand into his pocket and sighed.

Logan Huntzberger didn't hold hands with girls in public. He could grope inconspicuously in movie theaters and he could inch fingers under skirts during dinner parties but he simply could not walk through a mall holding hands. Rory would get ideas then and it would all spiral from there. Before he knew it, he'd be doing other things like waiting for her between classes to say hi or going to stupid Hartford parties just because she'd be there. He'd be bringing her coffee first thing in the morning and blowing off dates with easy blondes to watch ridiculous British comedies he didn't understand. Except, he had already done all of those things and they were against the rules, so what harm would handholding do?

They stepped off of the escalator finally and he went to reach for her hand again but it was tucked firmly in her own pocket so he opted to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. Just to see what it felt like. "Where to now?" he asked.

Rory's eyes searched behind him at all of the stores. "Well, where do you shop the most?" she asked logically.

He shrugged. "I have a personal shopper Rory, I call her when I need something and it's delivered to me a few hours later, I don't know where it all comes from."

"No, you're not spoiled at all." She rolled her eyes. "Well come on then, let's go slumming in that store over there," she said, pointing at the Express Men store.

He eyed the store suspiciously. "Lead the way," he said finally, following her past several other stores.

They walked into the store and instantly, three female workers pounced on them.

"Welcome to Express!"

"Hi, is there anything I can help you with today?"

"We're having a sale right now, all of our button down shirts are buy one get one half off."

Logan looked around frantically for Rory, who had stepped back a few feet and was pretending to be very interested in a rack of sweaters. Payback for dropping her hand like it burned him he supposed. "Umm…" He tried to form an answer but the salesgirls kept on talking over him.

Rory finally looked up. "Sweetie, I want you to try this on!" she said, holding up a green sweater. She walked back over and linked her arm through his. "There's a few other things I want you to look at too, c'mere." She smiled patiently at the salesgirls and pulled him towards the other end of the store.

He grabbed her arm. "You're not leaving me alone the rest of the time we're in here," he warned, leaning in close as he whispered. She just rolled her eyes and dragged him to a table piled high with jeans.

"So what size?" she asked.

He lifted his shoulders in a lazy shrug. "What's the matter Ace, don't have an eye for the sizes like I do?"

She raised her eyebrow and stared at him for a few seconds before turning back to the table and selecting a few pairs of jeans. "Here," she said, shoving them into his hands. "Come on." She moved to another table and grabbed a few more pairs, throwing them on top of the ones already in his arms.

"I have to try on all of these?" he complained.

She nodded. "I don't know if you'll like boot-cut over straight-legged. You might want dark denim and not light." She smiled at him. "And of course, you'll want some new shirts to go with these jeans."

"Of course." He paused. "You wouldn't just be trying to torture me for making you skip class, would you?"

"Who me?" She batted her eyelashes at him. "Now Logan, why would I do that? Just because at this very moment I could be sitting in my psychology class taking notes and instead I'm at the mall with you?"

"Right, of course that's not what you're doing," he deadpanned. "You take psych?"

She handed him a shirt. "Yes I do." She looked around the store, searching for the fitting rooms. "Okay, this way." She pointed to an empty room and sat herself down on the nearest bench. "I'll be right here, show me everything," she added.

"Just so you know Ace, no matter what you do to me today, it's worth it, just because you skipped class."

"Good to know." She smiled as he disappeared behind the door. She watched as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his current pants to the floor…khaki these ones were. She supposed it was better than linen but she couldn't count those out as she hadn't really gone through his closet.

Rory closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. She was still thinking about what happened on the escalator. It wasn't like she had meant to hold his hand, and she really hoped he didn't think that's what she was trying to do, she just simply hadn't let go because the thought hadn't occurred to her. It hadn't even occurred to her that she had been holding his hand until he let go of it. She would have been fine if it would have ended there, lines would have been drawn, boundaries would have been set; she would have known where they stood. But then he had to go and ruin it by one stupid movement. A hair tuck. Seriously, why would he do that? That was a definite boyfriend move and he was not her boyfriend.

"Sleeping already?"

She opened her eyes and smiled appreciatively. "Definitely boot-cut," she murmured as she stood up. "Do you like them?"

"If I say yes, do I have to try the rest on?"

"Yes you do. But these are nice." She walked around him and giggled. "You won't want to wear them in front of Charlotte though," she warned.

"They're too tight," he griped.

"Trust me, they're not." She winked at him and then laughed as he slammed the door to his dressing room. "Try on one of the shirts with the darker jeans," she called to him before taking her place again on the bench. She looked at her watch and saw that her psych class was just ending. There were still two classes she could get to today but she knew better than to try and figure a way to. She only hoped she wasn't missing too much.

This was good though, she decided as Logan came out in his second pair of jeans. She shook her head quickly and he disappeared into the fitting room again. She and Dean had never gone shopping together before and the thought of Jess actually setting foot in an Express was at best, laughable, as she was sure he only shopped in thrift stores and street vendors.

"You're taking too long, what's the matter, you get stuck?" The door swung open again as soon as the words were out of her mouth and Logan stepped out and posed with his hand on his hip. He took a few steps forward, paused, did a spin and walked back towards the fitting room where he leaned against the door.

"Well? What do you think?"

"I think you've seen one too many episodes of America's Next Top Model," she said as she stood up and walked over to him. "But these do look good," she said.

"Good?" He scoffed. "Please, they look fierce."

"Okay, now I know you've watched Top Model at least once and I gotta say, that scares me." She motioned with her hand for him to turn around again and he obliged. If she had her way Logan would be wearing jeans a lot more from now on. The light blue ribbed tee shirt fit him nicely too, she noticed, appreciating the way it stretched over his biceps.

"Careful Ace," he said, a slight smile on his lips. "I don't think the salesgirl will like it if you drool all over these and then I don't buy them."

"Oh you're buying them," she replied without hesitating.

"I am?" She nodded and grinned at him. "Why?"

She turned him away from the mirror. "Look at that ass. Every girl on campus will thank me for making you buy these jeans," she declared.

"Did Rory Gilmore just say ass?"

"Would you have preferred backside?"

He laughed. "Ass works. Careful Ace, I might be rubbing off on ya a little."

"Probably not." She looked at her watch. "I'll let you get out of trying on the rest in there if you agree to get these and the first pair and then buy me a cup of coffee?"

"Deal." Logan headed for the fitting room again and few seconds later he poked his head out. "Hey Ror?"

"Yes?"

He caught her bye the hand and pulled her into the small room with him, shutting the door behind them. "I thought you'd like to see the jeans up close," he suggested innocently. Rory started to protest but his mouth covered hers before she formed even a syllable. It took only a second for her to kiss him back and as soon as she did he backed her up against the cubicle wall. It shuddered slightly under their weight and Logan wondered if there was anyone on the other side of the wall. The thought was immediately forgotten though as Rory's tongue found its way into his mouth and he slid his hands up the back of her shirt.

And just as suddenly as they began, they were done. Rory gasped and shoved him away hard. He hit the other wall with a dull thud and again wondered if anyone was on the other side. "Ow," he muttered, holding onto his elbow.

"Logan!" she hissed. "We are in a fitting room!"

"Wow, wait, we are?" Logan looked around. "You're so observant. You know, you should be a reporter or something." She gave him a dirty look but didn't resist as he came close enough to kiss her again. Once again, his hands drifted from her waist upwards and she pushed him away.

"Come on Ace, you've never misbehaved in a fitting room before?"

"No, never!" the words were out before she caught them.

"Never huh?" His eyebrow shot up. "Well me either, and today would be the day of all days to fix that, wouldn't it?" He leaned in again but this time she held him at arm's length.

"Logan, fitting room!" she repeated in a whisper. "This isn't allowed, we're going to get in trouble!"

"Well damn the man Ace!" She couldn't help but laugh as the words left his mouth and she rewarded him with a quick kiss on the lips.

He tried to keep her against him and deepen the kiss but she wasn't having any of it. He wasn't surprised when Rory ground her heel into his toe and found her way out of the room.

"You should leave the jeans on," she suggested quietly once she was safely on the other side of the door. She blushed as the salesgirl in the fitting room area frowned at her disapprovingly.

Logan appeared a few seconds later. "Oh you're not mad at me for that," he said once he saw the look on her face.

"I'm not?" She wasn't really, but that wasn't the point.

"You're not." They walked towards the cash registers in the front of the store. "And you won't be until after I buy you your coffee."

Coffee would be good, she decided. "I hate you," she grumbled for the second time that day.

"Yeah but you don't hate my ass in these jeans so I think we'll be okay, won't we?" He grinned at the cashier as he handed her a credit card.

"You're buying me the biggest cup of coffee ever," she said, for lack of anything better to say. They walked out of the store and Rory immediately dragged him over to the Starbucks kiosk.

"Hi there, I'll have a tall cinnamon spice mocha and what?" he glanced at Rory. "Three gallons of the strongest coffee you have?"

Rory elbowed him and stepped forward. "I'll have a venti caramel macchiato. Actually, I'll have two."

"You heard the lady," Logan said as the barista looked at him for confirmation. As he paid for their drinks Rory's eyes wandered over to the bookstore.

"I suppose we're going in?" Logan asked as he followed her gaze.

She shrugged. "Can we?" She didn't want to sound too hopeful but there were at least seven books she wanted right now that she could think of off the top of her head.

"Sure, it's your day off after all." He steered her towards the bookstore. "Although…"

"What?" She looked at him suspiciously as they stood in front of the store.

"I think it's your turn for an I Never and I've got one for you."

She sighed. "I'm not going to have sex with you in the bookstore!" She spoke too loudly and several people stopped to stare at her.

"Nice to know Ace, but I wasn't going to even suggest it. I know you'd never defile your precious books like that. No, I have another big one for you, maybe even bigger than playing hooky." He leaned in conspiratorially. "This could be a monumental day for you."

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "You have to agree to it before we step into the store."

"I agree," she said reluctantly. He took her hand and walked into the bookstore. "Okay so what is it?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

He grinned wickedly. "You're not allowed to buy a single book."

Rory's mouth dropped open in dismay. "Logan! No!"

"Sorry Ace, but you agreed. Now come on, let's go look around."

"I'm not going to look around if I can't buy anything!"

"Okay then, come and watch me as I look at books then."

"What did I ever do to you?" she demanded. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you, I—I'm making you a stronger person Rory."

"You're mean." She followed him deeper into the store and trailed behind him, looking longingly at the biography section as they passed it.

"You'll thank me for it later."

"Doubtful." They walked around quietly for a few minutes before Rory broke.

"This is so unfair!" she protested finally. "Logan, this is just cruel."

"Crueler than say, oh I don't know, me not setting the alarm clock for this morning?"

"They were both cruel!"

"Which one was crueler?"

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you anymore." She turned to the bookshelf and picked up a book. After scanning the back of it she looked up at Logan with hopeful eyes. "You know, I've never been in a bookstore and bought just one book before."

"Yes you have."

"Excuse me? I have not."

"Have so."

"When?" she demanded.

"Two weeks ago. I ran into you on campus as you were leaving the bookstore with _one_ book for your poetry class."

"Oh my God, you remember that?" she shook her head and thrust the book against his chest. "I need this book Logan."

He looked down at it. "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "You need this book?"

"Yes," she said stubbornly, fully aware that she sounded like a four year old. Her eyes brightened. "And _you _could buy it for me because you've never bought me a book before and I've never let you buy me a book before so we both add another thing to our list."

Logan took the book from her hands and studied it. "I don't know Ace, that's not a very exciting I Never." He snaked an arm around her and pulled her flush against him. "Now, I know I said we wouldn't embarrass the books Rory, but what do you say?" She glared at him silently and he shrugged. "All right, no book then."

He dropped his arm from her waist and turned to put the book back when she grabbed him by the chin and kissed him. Logan was stunned by the sudden attack and the book fell from his hands as Rory ran her other hand up his stomach and around, fumbling for something to hold onto as she leaned into him.

She had him trapped between her and the bookshelf, not that he minded though, it was a good place to be, but he was curious as to what she was going to do. He wasn't too worried, seeing as how she had freaked out not half an hour ago in a fitting room, and at least in there, no one else could see them.

"Can I have the book?" she asked, pulling away slightly.

"I really think that's going against the rules of the original I never." She leaned in again and kissed his neck, her tongue flicking against his pulse before moving to his collarbone. He groaned and steadied himself against her. She may have every other guy in the world fooled but Rory Gilmore was not as virtuous as she wanted everyone to believe she was.

"Are you sure I can't have the book?" she asked again, pouting slightly and flashing her signature Bambi eyes. _She should have those trademarked_ he decided as he placed his palms against the base of her spine and pulled her even closer.

"I don't think you need another book." He was going to buy her the book; he had decided that before she actually asked for it. He was just goading her now, seeing how far she'd actually go.

Rory could be absolutely salacious when it came to books, he soon discovered, as her hand found its way into his front pocket. He broke their kiss abruptly and looked at her in surprise. She smiled at him wickedly before bringing his head back down for another kiss and he was beginning to imagine all sorts of things until a stock boy clearing his throat interrupted them.

Rory blushed appropriately and avoided eye contact with the teenager as she walked out into the main aisle. As Logan bent down to retrieve the fallen book he became aware of how harsh the denim material of his jeans could be, especially as it tightened around him. He'd have to remind Rory of that sometime. He just shrugged and offered the guy a lazy smile as he trailed behind Rory.

He caught her by the elbow and steered her toward the front counter. "You get the book," he said against her ear and she just smiled triumphantly at him as she handed over the book.

"Thank you," she said sweetly once the bag containing the book was back in her hands.

"Mmhmm." He rolled his eyes at her. "I don't think I can ever look at you the same again Ace."

"Just taking a cue from you," she said with a wink. "Where to now?" she asked as they left the store.

"Actually," he stopped and looked at her. "There's something I need to do since we're here, it's for the LDB, which…" his voice trailed off.

"Which means you have to go alone," she finished.

"I wouldn't if I absolutely didn't have to," he said apologetically.

"No problem," she assured him. "You go do what you need to do and I'll sit right here and read my new book."

"It'll be fifteen minutes tops," he said.

"It's fine, go," she said with a wave of her hand. "I actually should check my messages anyway." She pulled her phone out of her purse and frowned. "No service."

"Oh." He looked at his own phone before handing it to her. "Mine works, knock yourself out."

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "Run along, do your super secret club business." She flipped open his phone and waved as he walked away. She only had one message, and it was from Paris so she left her own message on Paris' phone that she would be home later this evening and would talk to her then. Settling down on a bench she opened up her book and began reading.


	4. Four

Banana Pancakes  
part IV

Twenty pages later she was startled out of her concentration as Logan's phone began vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and opened it just in time to miss the call but she looked at LCD anyway. _Missed call: Summer. _She tried to picture Summer's face but came up with a blank. She couldn't really remember Logan ever mentioning the name either, although really, Logan never brought up any of his girlfriends unless she asked about them. She hesitated for a few seconds before letting her curiosity get the better of her and she quickly maneuvered herself through the menu to see the list of missed calls. _19 missed calls._

Nineteen? She frowned as she scrolled through the names. Four of the calls were from Summer, and the rest were from several other girls. _Hailey, Jenna, Rachel, Sara, Angela. _

Rory studied the list. The calls had started last night around eleven and went right through today. She realized she hadn't seen Logan on the phone at all and wondered if he had purposely ignored the calls and if so, why he would do that. She shut the phone and put it back in her pocket but the book was long forgotten.

She and Logan had spent all day together, something they hadn't actually done before. Not just the two of them anyways, Logan was a big fan of group activities and secretly, Rory preferred them as well. Rules weren't broken in groups; it was much easier to stay inside the lines if other people were around to watch. Today had been one big rule breaker and if she hadn't already been confused about what they were she would be now.

Rory couldn't blame everything on today though; things had gone from black and white to a lovely shade of gray weeks ago in her opinion but she hadn't dared bring that up to Logan. There were too many ways he could answer her questions, too many answers that she really wouldn't want to hear.

She thought again, of the list of girls in his phone from the last twenty-four hours, and wondered how many of them had done the same things with Logan. How many of them had woken up to breakfast in bed and whatever activities he had planned specifically for them.

A sigh fell from her lips as she picked up the book again and tried to read. She couldn't fool herself anymore, she wasn't really as special as she'd like to think, she was one of many, or at least, one of seven.

"Hey so that took longer than I thought it would." She looked up and saw Logan standing in front of her. "I would have brought you a coffee to make up for it, but I thought instead, I'd just take you to dinner."

"Actually, can we just get back?" she asked, standing up.

"We could, but come on Ace, you haven't had anything to eat all day except those pancakes this morning and I'm starving, so I know you have to be at least a little bit hungry. Besides, isn't it against some Gilmore rule to turn down food?"

She smiled at that. "All right," she relented. "I am pretty hungry," she admitted.

"Great, let's go."

The drive back towards campus was mostly quiet. Rory had asked Logan if he had finished his LDB business and the talk just died off after that, except for a few random comments from Logan, all of which Rory politely responded to but offered no further conversation.

"Don't you need reservations for here?" she asked as he pulled the car up to Zinc, a restaurant close to Yale.

Logan chuckled. "Not when your last name is Huntzberger," he reminded her. He held her door open for her and then led her into the restaurant. Sure enough, once he mentioned his name to the host, their wait time decreased from forty minutes to five.

"Oh don't look at me like that," he said once they were seated. "Admit it, you love the perks that happen when you're with me."

"Hey I love anything that allows me to eat quicker," she said as she picked up the menu and began reading.

"Logan Huntzberger!"

Logan looked up from his own menu and looked at the waitress who approached their table. "Katrina, hey," he greeted her with an easy smile. "How are you?"

"Well I'd be better if I ever heard from you anymore," she said with a little pout. "I tried calling you last night, you know."

_No you didn't_. Rory studied the redhead as she chitchatted with Logan. She was tall and pretty and she looked like pretty much every other girl Logan hung around with but she didn't look familiar. She wondered if she would even know which girls Logan were sleeping with from the ones he wasn't at this point.

Katrina took their drink orders and let them know that their waiter would be with them shortly. She then made Logan promise to call her to do something this coming weekend and then walked away, making sure to look Rory square in the eye as she did.

"She seems nice," Rory noted as she looked back down at her menu.

"She's fun at parties," Logan said.

"Ever date her?" She hoped she sounded casual, but the way Logan was looking at her over the top of his menu had her thinking she sounded more like a jealous girlfriend.

"Nah. Like I said, she's fun at parties, but that's it." He chuckled. "Besides, did you see her hair? Finn would never let me hear the end of it."

She laughed with him. "She didn't call you last night though, like she said she did." At that moment she wished for a breadbasket to magically appear on the table. Anything to help her keep her mouth shut instead of letting all of these words out.

"She probably didn't," he agreed, still looking at his menu. "She probably thinks she did though, because well, she's not the brightest girl and I'm sure she knows more than one Logan."

"Six girls called you last night," she blurted out.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, when I used your phone earlier I saw that you had nineteen missed phone calls, all from girls," she explained, handing his phone back to him.

"All girls?" She nodded. "Not even one call from Colin or Finn?" He flipped the phone open and looked at the display. "Huh, you're right." He put the phone away just as their waiter came over; ready to take their order. Rory just shook her head as he set the breadbasket down five minutes too late.

Logan watched Rory tear her dinner roll into tiny pieces without eating it. "Whatcha thinking about Ace?" he asked knowingly as she began shredding the pieces into even smaller bits.

She looked up at him and shrugged. "Nothing," she said softly. She attempted a smile. "I've successfully missed all my classes today. Congratulations."

He laughed. "I think the congratulations should go to you," he said. "After all, you made it through today with minimal damage and admit it." Underneath the table he nudged her foot with his own. "You had at least a _little _bit of fun today, didn't you?"

"It has been fun," she confessed.

He sighed and reached over, taking the bread from her hands. "Out with it," he said finally. "You've been quiet ever since we left the mall. Is it because of the phone calls?"

She nodded but couldn't bring her eyes up to meet his.

"Well what about them?" he asked. Before she could answer their food was served and Rory took a few bites before going back to the conversation.

"Nineteen missed calls," she said finally. "Six girls desperately trying to get a hold of you."

"So?"

"So?" she repeated incredulously. "Logan, I know you're seeing other people and that's fine, I expect that from you, but _six_? Well, seven including me, that's a little outrageous.

Logan set his fork down and looked at her. "How many missed calls were there again?"

"Nineteen."

"Right, so, how many of those calls did I answer?"

"None."

He sat back in his chair. "So what's the problem? I don't understand Ace."

"Its just tha—"

"Because the way I see it," he interrupted. "If I had answered any of those phone calls and you were right there, you would have a reason to be mad, and even a little, dare I say it, jealous, but I didn't. I picked you up last night and I turned my phone off and didn't give it another thought until you brought it up a little while ago."

She studied her plate as his words sunk in. He had a point and she hated that. She was reminded of their first actual conversation all over again, and just like then, she would have to concede this fight as well.

Or maybe not. She tapped her fork against the plate lightly and then looked up again. "Have you done this for any of them?" she asked suddenly.

"Taken them to dinner?"

"Spent the day with them," she clarified. "Logan, try and deny it if you want, but today was—"

"Fun," he interrupted again. He held her gaze for a moment before speaking again. "We had fun today Rory, but let's not get into anything that might ruin it, okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Fun," she repeated quietly. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Rory pushed her chair back and excused herself to the ladies' room.

Logan watched as she walked away from the table and then looked down at his hands. He had deliberately left her question unanswered, which probably hadn't been the smartest move, considering that the simple truth would have diffused the whole situation and they would have been able to enjoy the rest of their dinner.

The answer was no. No, he hadn't done anything even remotely similar to this for any of the other girls he saw. As far as Rory knew, this had been some spontaneous day that was the result of him carelessly forgetting to set the alarm after a night of drinking.

What she didn't know was how carefully it had been planned out. How he had learned her class schedule, made sure she had no exams, anything due, or any other reason to be in class. He had spoken to all of the professors, letting them know she wouldn't be in there, but stretching the truth so that she wouldn't be penalized for missing the day.

She had no idea that the only reason they even took the day off was because two weeks prior, he had watched her nearly kill herself over research papers and exams and not one, but two articles for the paper. It had been clear she needed a break before she herself broke and he knew she wouldn't do it on her own so he had taken it upon himself to make sure she relaxed, even if it was only one day.

He had no idea why he had done it in the first place. Sure, Colin and Finn would say otherwise and while there would be some truth in their opinions, Logan was still trying to convince himself that he would have done this for any of the other girls in his cell phone.

As if on cue, his phone rang then, startling him out of his thoughts. _Jenna _flashed on the LCD and he hit the ignore button without a second thought, sending the call directly to voicemail.

In the ladies' room Rory was staring at herself in the mirror when her own cell phone started buzzing in her purse. She opened it up and saw a new text message. She read it slowly and then read it a second time, a smile playing over her lips.

_Ace- the other girls don't exist when you're around. L._

She would have read it a fifth time, but by then, she realized she had been gone a long time so she dropped the phone back into her purse and walked back to the table.

"Thought maybe you had ditched me," Logan said as she slid back into her seat across from him.

"Thought about it," she admitted with a grin. They stared at each other for a few moments before Logan winked at her. She ducked her head, smiling and pretty sure she was blushing as well.

"You up for dessert?" Logan asked as they finished their dinner. He laughed at the look she gave him. "Of course you are; what was I thinking?" He signaled for their waiter and ordered dessert for the two of them. The rest of their dinner was spent in a comfortable silence that stayed with them as Logan walked her back to her dorm an hour later.

He stopped just outside her building and turned to her. "So, how much do you hate me?" he asked as he stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"Hate you? I don't hate you," she replied.

"Oh. Not even for making you take the day off when you really didn't want to?" He frowned. "I thought you would at least a little."

"Nah." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. "Taking the day off was exactly what I needed," she admitted. "Although, somehow, you knew that, didn't you?"

He smirked. "Maybe."

"So what are you doing tonight?"

"Oh I don't know. Probably go back to the pub with the guys. I'd ask if you wanted to come along but I know you're just dying to get to your room and email your classmates for their notes and read all of the material you missed."

She didn't bother denying it. "Well, have fun, show your jeans to Finn." She smirked back at him. "Thanks for today though," she said sincerely. She reached up and kissed him.

"Where did we end up on the I Nevers?" he asked once they separated. She laughed and lifted her shoulders in a shrug.

"We'll call it even," she said decidedly and he nodded, dipping down to kiss her once more.

"I'll see you later," he said. "Don't spend too much time studying tonight." He turned to walk away but only made it a few steps before turning back. "I can't believe I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?"

He grinned and led her into Branford Hall. "I have one last surprise for you and it's supposed to be waiting right…yep, here it is." He bent down in front of her door and picked up a bag. "For you," he said, handing it to her ceremoniously.

She eyed it suspiciously. "What is it?"

"That is everything you missed today. Not only detailed notes from your note buddies, but cassette tapes of the lectures from each class as well."

Rory lifted her eyes from the bag to Logan's face. "Are you serious?" she asked. He nodded and she broke out in her hugest smile of the day. "Logan!" She leaned forward and placed a succession of little kisses on his lips. "You know this is the best thing you could have done, right?" She asked between more kisses.

"I bet I could top it," he countered. He steadied her with one hand on her cheek and gave her one last kiss. "Night Rory." He winked at her and walked away, whistling.

He was such a coward. He decided that halfway back to his own dorm. If he weren't he would still be with Rory right now, telling her that it was time they changed their agreement, that he was tired of seeing other girls. Hell, he wasn't even sure she had gotten his text message though she must have since she had come back to the table smiling. That was another cowardly move, telling her that way and not actually telling her to her face but it had been the best he could do at the time.

By the time he turned around and got back to Rory's dorm she was already in her room and at her desk, reading over her notes. He smiled at her predictability and watched her through the bedroom window for a few moments. He hesitated slightly, knowing that she would probably fall off her chair at the sound of him knocking on the window but he didn't have any other choice. He rapped his knuckles against the window as softly as he could but sure enough, she jumped anyways.

"Miss me already?" she asked dryly as she swung the window open. She stepped to the side and waited as he climbed over the sill.

"Can I tear you away from your studying?"

She shrugged and sat down on the corner of her bed. "You have all day, what's up?"

"Buying a pair of jeans wasn't exactly my big I never moment." The words sounded stupid coming out of his mouth and he almost wished he had eased into it more subtly. Then again, there really was no need for small talk; all day long they had basically been leading up until this exact moment.

"Watching Empire Records was?" She frowned in confusion.

He shook his head. "You asked me at dinner how many girls I had done this before and I didn't exactly answer you."

"Logan, it's okay, you don't have to, it—"

"None," he interrupted quickly. "To all of it."

"None."

He nodded. "I've never had a girl wake up next to me in the morning and I've definitely never made her breakfast. I've never spent a morning in bed just watching movies, and I've definitely never gone to all of the trouble I went to making sure today went off perfectly."

"That's a lot of nevers," she remarked quietly.

He cracked a slight smile. "You're telling me." He sat down next to her.

"But why?"

"Why what?"

She was studying her hands now. "Why me?"

"Why not you?" he countered, guiding her to look at him. "Ror, you tried to say it yourself at dinner, what we're doing here, let's face it, it's not our original agreement. Like it or not, there's strings now and neither of us has been very good at following the rules." He laced the fingers of one of her hands with his as he spoke. "So the way I see it, we've got two choices here. We can either go back to being just friends or we can move forward into something else but what we can't do is stay where we are, because it stopped working a long time ago. Now I don't know about you, but I don't want to go back to being friends."

"What about the other girls?" she asked doubtfully.

"Are you with me?"

She locked her clear blue eyes onto his brown ones for a few moments before nodding. "Yeah, I'm with you."

"Then they don't matter." He kissed her then, and then stood up. "If I don't go now, you're not going to get any studying done," he explained. He raised an eyebrow at her suggestively. "Unless you don't want to do any studying?"

She laughed and pushed him back towards the window. "I need to study, but I don't have any classes until noon tomorrow, so you could come by again after you leave the pub tonight," she suggested.

"I will be here by two-thirty," he promised, climbing back outside. "Leave the window open?"

She nodded. "Always." She kissed him again. "Good-bye."

"Bye Ace." He started back towards his dorm again.

"Hey Logan?" she had opened the window again to call out to him.

"Yeah Ace?"

"I've got another I Never for you if you're interested."

"What's that?" He looked at her dancing eyes and mischievous grin curiously.

"You'll never make me banana pancakes again?"

He laughed with her and nodded his head in agreement. "No banana pancakes ever again," he promised.

"Good." She grinned at him and as she closed the window once more he could hear her departing words.

"Blueberry will be just fine!"


End file.
